Racist Transformers? Or overly sensitive audience?

I have yet to see "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen". Make no mistake, I WILL see the movie. I have been a Transformers fan from the git go in the early 80s.

I have seen every episode of the old cartoon series, several from subsequent series (my opinion, none as good as the original), and many of the newest series, "Transformers Animated" (geared to the 8-11 age bracket. I watch with my kids).

The newest series deals with something the original never did, until the movie in 1986, and that is death. I am lucky enough (or unlucky enough) that my kids understand the concept, and even seem to have a full understanding of the concept of having a soul, a topic touched upon in the series under the guise of each robot having a "spark" (When good-guy leader Optimus Prime thinks he has died, he asks those around him, "Is this the Well of Allsparks?"). The "spark" concept is one that was broached in previous series, notably the "Beast Wars" spin-off of the 90s, but it seems to be explored a little more thoroughly in the current series.

But I digress. The Transformers movie from a couple of years ago was fun for fans, and while not a cinematic masterpiece, an okay movie. It had the idea of a powerful artifact called the Allspark, and the presence of such a thing became the motivation for transformers on Earth, as opposed to the original story, which placed the transformers here 4 million years ago, and in some form of robotic stasis until the modern time.

This new approach has the transfomers (Autobot good guys and Decepticon bad guys) arriving on Earth as meteors and disguising themselves as vehicles to search for this lost artifact.

By the end of the first movie, the Decpticons are on the run, their leader deactivated and dumped into the ocean, and a message from Optimus Prime sent to space inviting other Autobots to join those who survived on Earth. Good guys win, human companion of the Autobots gets the girl, and a happy ending is achieved.

The second movie, subtitled "Revenge of the Fallen" (ROTF) adds new layers to the story. I haven't seen the movie yet, so whatever I say is based upon reviews that contain spoilers and what I know from the various comic books stories that have been written over the years. I haven't read them, but I have read enough about them to have a pretty decent idea as far as source material is concerned (any mistakes should be forgiven).

The title itself gives things away, and has double meaning. It refers to the fallen Decepticons from the first movie, specifically Decepticon leader, Megatron (dumped into the ocean), and it refers to an ancient transformer, said to be, depending upon who you speak to, the FIRST Decepticon (Each transformer wears an allegiance symbol. A red robotic face for the Autobots, and a purple one for the Decepticons. The Decepticon symbol bears a strong resemblance to the face of the Fallen). According to the comics, The Fallen is said to be the transformers equivalent of Judas, since he betrayed a dozen other transformers first built by the transformer machine-god Primus. His actual name has been lost to the sands of time, and he is simply referred to, because of his actions, The Fallen.

In the movie, The Fallen and several Decepticons have visited Earth in the distant past, terrifying ancient humans, presumably Aztecs, Incas and the like.

But again, I digress from my point.

This second movie introduces several new characters, both Autobot and Decepticon. Some are fan favorites, and others, while possessing names that fans will recall from older incarnations of the Transformers, are new. Two such characters are Skids and Mudflap, also known as the Autobot twins.

In the first movie, Optimus Prime explains how the transformers are able to speak English. They tapped into the world wide web, and presumably learned not only the language, but much about human cultures. In the Autobot Jazz, this came across as an easygoing character who enjoyed all that life had to offer when he wasn't fighting in a war (and sounded like a black man while doing so). In Autobot Ironhide this came across as a profound understanding and appreciation of weapons. Autobot Bumblebee was able to communicate using what could only be assumed to be a satellite radio hookup, since he had near instant access to any radio transmission he needed to get a point across.

Different personalities arose as a result of different focuses on the same available data.

Enter ROTF. Autobots Skids and Mudflap have been covered the most in the media, because they are "jive-talkin', gangsta robots" who represent "stereotypically racist" characters.

Robots who turn into Chevy vehicles. Are racist. Because they talk and act like a couple of buffoons, and with a certain inflection.

What in the world has happened to the "cultural sensitivity" in this country? Buffoonish robots who don't read and behave like a couple of hoodlums are "racist"?

Let's go over what I said a few moments ago. The characterizations are formed on these robots as a result of what they glean from the Internet. To say that there is no shortage of material that is offensive and "acceptable" there is an understatement. Virtually anything the Wayans brothers have ever done would be more than enough to form personalities and behaviors that would seem "racist" in anything other than a black man behaving like a buffoon.

And that's the problem.

It seems that racial stereotypes are acceptable, as long as they are coming from one person or another, but NOT from a white guy (or CG robot).

Maybe it is time for people to relax a little, and not worry about racial issues when they are perceived.

Or, apply that sensitivity to any and ALL instances of such insensitivity, especially when the source is one who SHOULD be offended by the crap he is calling funny.

So-called comedians like Chris Rock, who make a career out of making racially insensitive and downright insulting comments and calling it "comedy", do not help matters at all.

"Bruno" will be opening soon. Sasha Baron Cohen has made a movie in which he plays a flamboyantly gay man, and records people's reactions to him and his flamboyance. He did something similar with "Borat", and was sued many times for it. Now, he is targeting homosexuality, and doing so in a disgustingly vulgar manner.

Yet many critics love the movie. They think it is funny to see Cohen behaving outrageously and baiting people into situations that will embarrass them. They think that his antics as a homosexual and his vulgarity in speech and action are funny.

Yet the same time they offer praises for Cohen, they lambaste ROTF, complaining that there is vulgarity, potty humor, and stereotypical behavior. Such things, they say, don't belong in a "kids movie" like ROTF. Yet ROTF carries a PG-13 rating for that very reason.

PG-13 does NOT denote a kids movie, regardless of the subject matter or source material.

But the point is that characterizations performed by a "comedian" who makes a career out of making people feel/look foolish, even if he has to act as an over-the-top homosexual to do it, is funny. Having computer generated robots who have a legitimate story reason (though to my knowledge it is not addressed in the movie. Taking the previous explanation about the web, and extrapolating that new arrivals could conceivably find material on the web that is not considered offensive, one really doesn't need to think too hard to explain the "racist" behavior of the two new 'bots) for behaving as they do is enough to get all kinds of "anti-defamation" groups up in arms, is not, apparently, funny.

To say that there is a double standard at work would be an understatement.

Maybe it's time we re-evaluate just how important race and racial sensitivity really is. After all, we have Michelle Obama's "baby's daddy" elected to the highest executive office in the land. With credentials like that, I don't know how there can be so much concern for CG robots that are green and orange, one sporting a "gold tooth", and both talking and behaving like a white guy with his pants around his knees, a t-shirt that is 4 sizes too big, and a baseball hat cocked to the side, which is seemingly "racist".

Haven't been feeling too witty...

Which is why there has not been much posting. Like any. For a while.

Kids are out of school, and the lovely June weather has felt more like early October with the cold and the rain. I can see my breath in front of my face at work. I thought we were in the midst of a GLOBAL warming cycle. I think I've ranted about this before, so I will simply reiterate: For any phenomenon to be GLOBAL, there cannot be such wildly local variances.

Anyway, kids are kids. They can drive one batty. Coop them up for a few days of their summer vacations because of the colder temps and rain, and that multiplies. Add a general lack of proper sleep for their supervising daddy, and you have frayed nerves, headaches all over the place, and all-around crankiness.

And that's just from Wyfster putting up with me (I kid. Really. My wife has been great, as always).

The lack of sleep comes from having lost one car to total structural breakdown. a few inches of play in the rear axle makes for sideways driving. Fun fun. Anyway, since we are to one car, this means that Wyfster gets home about the same time I should be clocking in at work. I told them the situation, and it's cool there, but this means I have been gettign into work later. Which means I have been working later. The past few days, I have been on the clock until the wee hours, one day just beating the birds chirping the morning by about a half-hour or so.

Wyfster looks forward to our vacations to Florida each year. It's one week to visit my dad, and take in the sun, sand, ocean, and other Florida treasures. I think I'm looking forward to this vacation more than I have any previous ones.

Don't get me wrong, I like my job. My co-workers are all on different shifts than mine, so I get along with them just fine, because I don't have to work with them for extended periods of time. I don't mind the work itself, and I like to think I'm good at it. Since my boss hasn't complained, I take that to be a good thing (especially since he has "overlooked" a couple of minor industrial accidents, and still wants me around. Seriously. A faulty overflow alarm led to my trying to put about 300 gallons of oil more into a 14,000 gallon outside tank than it could hold. The clean-up took a couple of hours, and my boss STILL likes me, and wants to keep me around. The company owner's reaction to the overflow was to chuckle and say "Well, we haven't done THAT in a while"). Seriously. I work for great people, and that can make all the difference in liking your job.

Having said all that, I really am looking forward to getting the Hell away from it all for a week.

I would prefer more time away, but I'll take what I can get. Maybe my witticism batteries will recharge, and I can keep this blog going.

Or at the very least, not snap at the cats for eating so loudly.

Did I mention I need a vacation?